


Bloodstained Snow

by dokimekii



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Experiments :(, Gen, Oh no they all have 2 crests, Route Merge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28695027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dokimekii/pseuds/dokimekii
Summary: “Is anyone going to ask why the 3 house leaders ALL have white hair?”“Nope, don’t worry about it.”“I’m worrying.”Three future leaders meet in the worst circumstances, and it changes the course of history forever.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Edelgard von Hresvelg & Claude von Riegan
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53





	1. Moonlight

1176.

Everything burned. 

Raging fire, pained screams, so many screams and cries in agony. Too many. 

Father... Stepmother... Glenn... everyone... 

They’re all dead. Gone forever. No one can save them. I can’t save them.

It was too much to bear. 

And then, in a blur, everything was cold. Hands grabbed at him, forced him into a bag, and he couldn’t stay conscious any longer. 

Those hands... they were the same bloodied hands as the beasts who killed everyone there without a shred of remorse-

It kept replaying over and over. Their last moments. Even when he slept all he could feel were the flames burning him, and his father begging him to do something...

Tears pricked at his eyes. He couldn’t even tell what he was feeling. Fear? Anger? Despair? It was too smushed together to differentiate. It was all too, too much. 

Yet there was a dim light in all of it. As small as was, and as much as it threatened to go out, there was a faint light of hope.

He hadn’t been the only one to escape alive.

In the dark cell he was in, illuminated only by faint candles, there was another person there with him. 

El. Edelgard von Hresvelg, his stepsister.

-

Maybe if she had cried out and begged her mother to let her leave the kingdom with her uncle two years ago, she wouldn’t be in this mess right now.

But now her mother was dead. And she hadn’t seen her father or siblings in years. There’s no point dwelling on what-ifs.

Despite the chilliness of the cell, Edelgard felt like she was burning, burning, burning. She felt her wounds and burns so vividly, and she couldn’t get any help. She was trapped here, with Dimitri, who had even more injuries and burns than her, but didn’t seem to be reacting to them at all.

Edelgard felt numb. She couldn’t process what had happened. All she could remember were the screams and the fire. The scorching flames. She didn’t feel sad or angry, she just felt... empty.

Where were they now? how did they get here? Who caused it all to happen?

She remembered in the carriage, her mother smiling at her with unsettling tenderness, and saying,

“Now we will be able to go home, dear El.”

Right before everything turned crimson.

She had too many questions, but Edelgard kept her silence.

Though tears were falling from her eyes, she didn’t make a single sound.

-

How much time had passed? Hours? Days? Or maybe just a few minutes. There was no way to tell. Yet as Edelgard and Dimitri were sitting in the cell, completely silent, a door that neither of them had noticed in the dark suddenly opened with a loud bang that made both of them jump. The shadows of two figures could be seen from the light that flooded in through the doorway.

“Hah! How lucky were we to get not one, not two, but three royals down here!?”

A feminine voice, filled with playful malice spoke.

“Is this bratty kid even royalty?”

A much deeper, monotone voice responded.

“Trust me, trust me! I can assure you that he is. He’s not Fódlan royalty, so he’s worth even less than the other rats. But, he’s a good back-up plan... and test subject.”

“Does he even have a crest?”

“Hmm... well, we’ll have to test that. If he doesn’t, then I suppose we could try to turn him into a demonic beast instead? We still don’t know the specifics of how it works.”

“Thales wanted to give them all the Crest of Flames. We will not go against his orders. Especially since we have failed before, with those other brats.”

“Oh right, we really messed that shit up, didn’t we? What Crest was it again...? The Crest of Gloucester?”

“All because you were careless. I’m sure this time, the punishment would be more... severe.”

“Hush, hush. This time, I’ll be sure to have at least one of the experiments succeed. If the rest die, oh well.”

Footsteps clattered against the sound of metal (why were the floors made of metal?) and two people were standing in the doorway, the taller one holding an unconscious boy in his arms that looked the same age as Dimitri and Edelgard.

They both had unnatural skin that was ghost-white with a tinge of blue. The shorter one had long, wavy, bright pink hair tied in a ponytail and a sick smile on her face. The taller one, though only by a centimetre or two, had ghastly eyes with no pupils and straight midnight-blue hair that reached her shoulders. They both wore midnight black robes with purple and blue accents, and an ominous white eye symbol on the back. The patterns and designs were foreign to them.

The taller one practically dropped the child in her arms on the ground, and it made an awful thumping sound.

“Hey! Shouldn’t we treat him with a bit more care?”

The pink-haired one pouted but her eyes were filled with joy and teasing. At the blue’s glare, she smiled and laughed.

“I’m joking, Pharos!”

“You joke too much.”

The one apparently called Pharos replied, still monotone.

The pink-haired one stepped further into the cell, while Pharos stayed by the doorway. She looked around the cell, first at Edelgard, then Dimitri, and finally the boy that had recently been dropped there, and was still unconscious. She looked at all of them with hatred in her eyes and a smile on her face, making her entirely terrifying.

“I’ll be back here tomorrow. That’s when we’ll be starting. You pathetic royal rats... heh, I wonder if any of you will even survive all this. You better, or else Thales is gonna get really mad, y’know.”

She said all this with the coldest smile on her face, then turned around and left the cell, Pharos closing the door behind her.

“Kronya, continue your work guarding them. We cannot let them get away, understood? You know what will happen to you if they do.”

She talked to someone but could barely be heard, her voice muffled behind the doorway.

“Of course, Agatha. You can always trust me.”

-

Khalid woke up somewhere completely different from where he fell asleep- or, actually, where he was forcibly knocked unconscious by someone. 

Not the first time that’s happened. Far from it.

But things were definitely different this time, considering he was knocked asleep by magic- not a weapon or poison. That’s never happened to him before.

His head was pounding and every part of him felt tired and sore. But, he had to get up and figure out  where he was. And how to get out of there.

He opened his eyes and lifted his back off the freezing, smooth ground. Wherever he was, it was  really cold.

Blinking a few times to adjust himself to the dark, he saw candles burning low, almost burnt out, and a shadow- no, a  person sitting in one of the corners of the room. Whoever they were, they seemed to be sleeping. Looking around to his right, he then saw-

Instinctively he moved away, away from this person who was sitting next to him and  _looking_ right at him.

Blonde hair and bright blue eyes that looked so  _ tired _ yet full of concern. Seeing Khalid basically scurry away from him like a deer, the other boy stayed put and asked him something. 

He asked Khalid something, full of worry and caution, but even though he heard the words, he couldn’t understand-

Oh. That was  _ not _ Almyran. 

Where  _ was  _ he?


	2. Sunset, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get worse :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely happy with how this chapter turned out but I've been delaying updating this for too long! So, I hope you'll enjoy it regardless!  
> I'm really surprised with the interest and support this has gotten so far, so thank you! I don't reply to comments, but I appreciate them a ton.

“Are... are you okay?”

Dimitri asked again, softer. His voice felt sore after not using it for so long, and breathing in all that smoke at Duscur...

Duscur.

All the memories, the pain, their dying screams tore another wound in his heart.

_**They must be punished.** _

But this person in front of him, who had been dropped into the cell with no care, needed help. So does El. Though he honestly had no idea what he could do.

_**You’re not helping anyone.** _

He knows this.

-

“Who are you?”

The girl with light brown hair, who Khalid thought had been sleeping, asked him. Coldly. Detached, even.

That’s the first question that he could understand. 

Pale skin, unfamiliar clothing covered in furs, blue and purple eyes. And a language that he could somewhat understand, though he’d never heard it spoken before. 

He was in Fódlan. His mother’s homeland that she so desperately wanted to get away from.

How did he get here? Who kidnapped him? Who are the two people with him? How would he get out of this place, completely unknown to him?

Well, he could get the answer to one of those questions now, and save the rest for later.

There’s no harm in giving them his name, right?

“Khalid.”

He replied, forcing a small smile.

When the girl simply stared back at him with the same distant expression, it fell.

“I’m Dimitri. Er, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd.”

The blonde responded quickly, seeming slightly more _there_ than the girl, yet still... off. 

“I am Edelgard von Hreslvelg. You don’t _(seem to be)_ from _(around)_ here, are you?”

The brunette introduced herself, quickly moving on to the questions, but there was barely any emotion or care in her voice.

_ Geez, those names are complicated. Hresvelg? Blaiddyd? How are you even supposed to spell those? I really should’ve studied more of Fódlan’s language. Though I didn’t expect that I’d be here for another few years... guess I’ll have to make do. _

He couldn’t understand every word being said, but he could get the gist of it regardless. He’s an outsider here as well, sticking out from the rest. Figures.

“Are you sure you’re doing alright? You were _(dropped)_ in here... I can’t _(imagine)_ that didn’t hurt at all.”

The blondie, Dimitri, asked another question, with the most concerned look anyone had ever given him.

“I’m fine, don’t...”

Agh, what was the word again? Reading all those books was so different to actually speaking the language.

“Don’t worry.”

Khalid smiled at him, and this time it stayed on. Even though it was a complete lie. There was nothing major, but he could feel the bruises and scrapes all over him. 

Yet Dimitri and Edelgard did look much worse, compared to him. 

“We need to get out of here.”

Edelgard said, matter-of-fact, her spaciness completely hidden now and instead attempting to appear as calm and collected as possible. There was no questioning that, for any of them. They had to escape. But how?

How can 3 children escape from a completely sealed room, with no windows, no tools, and everything made out of some type of strange metal?

Unfortunately, they didn’t have the time to think of the answer as the door burst open, and their kidnappers came back.

-

The moment Agatha came back into the room with a bunch of mages, Edelgard felt her fear crawling back.

“Get the blondie, he’s first.”

Agatha ordered the group of mages, their faces covered by crow-like black masks. They came into the cell at once, surrounding Dimitri and picking him up. His initial shock quickly turned to fury (she had never seen him look that way before) as soon as he realized what was happening. He was not going let himself be taken away again. So, he struggled against them and-

“Agh! You brat!”

One of the mages was clearly in pain, their nose bleeding, and their mask cracked open into two pieces from a _single hit_. As the glowing emblem that flashed in the air had clearly indicated, the Crest of Blaiddyd had been activated.

_ No! You reckless idiot of a brother! Now they’re just going to hurt you- _

“Oh you’ve done it now, little princeling. I guess we’re doing this the hard way.”

Agatha said glaring, making a gesture to one of the mages, who took out some sort of thin blade that was completely unfamiliar to the three of them.

“No!”

Edelgard cried out, as the mage stabbed Dimitri in the neck, and he went completely limp.

“Heh, don’t worry, he’s not dead. At least, he won’t be if he just cooperates. Save your screams for later.”

Agatha taunted Edelgard, making light of the entire awful situation. After all, she’s the one in control, despite how much Edelgard hated it.

“Agatha, hurry up. We haven’t got much time.”

Pharos, who had entered the room so scarily silent that Edelgard hadn’t even noticed, spoke in her usual monotone voice. She gestured at the mages to carry Dimitri out of the cell, and they quickly followed the silent order. 

“What are you doing?”

Khalid asked them, looking like he wanted to say more but simply couldn’t. He looked completely calm, calm enough that the mask fooled Edelgard, despite his clenched hands and tense shoulders.

“Oh, I didn’t know you could actually speak. I suppose you are more useful than I thought you would be.”

Agatha insulted, feigning surprise and innocence in that disgusting way of hers.

“And you will find out very, _very_ soon, exactly what you brats are all here for.”

She added, quickly changing her surprise to an unnerving smile.

Just like her mother’s, right before this nightmare started...

And that one, passing traitorous thought brought her back to the flames.

-

“Are you done yet?”

Agatha asked Pharos, peering over at her work, completely unphased by the amount of blood that was spilled all around.

“This takes time. And concentration. If we do it right, we’ll be another step closer to achieving Thales’ goal. Pass me that vulnerary over there.”

Pharos asked, not breaking her concentration for even a moment.

“Ugh, I have to do everything for you, don’t I? Kidding!”

Pharos stayed silent to her tease as Agatha grabbed the vulnerary next to her and passed it to Pharos.

“Not even a response... so, we won’t know the results until his hair changes white or... well, until he’s dead.”

“Yes. Though the Crest of Blaiddyd in particular... it’s a tricky thing to work with. It influences the person much stronger than other crests... the only one that causes more effects would likely be Maurice’s Crest. Though the other crests still do influence a person’s personality in smaller ways.”

“Hm~ You know, that’s pretty interesting! I think I’ll actually study more of this stuff... I’ve never done crest experiments myself, but...”

“The resources required are difficult to come by. I’d recommend doing something else.”

Pharos cut in.

“Hm... Right! There was this thing I was researching! It’s similar to giving someone that beast crest, but there’s no blood reconstruction... I should try it out sometime!”

Agatha giggled, despite the morbidity of what she was talking about.

“That... would impress me, if you could pull it off.”

“Challenge accepted.”

Agatha smiled.

“...Agatha?”

“Yes?”

“Why... exactly was he chosen first? I’m afraid I don’t really get it. With the other group, it was just random choice, but here, you specifically-“

Pharos was cut off by Agatha this time.

“Isn’t it obvious? He’s the heir to the throne, the only son of that king. Well, late king now! He will rise to power the fastest, giving Thales the most control to do... whatever he wants to do.”

She explained.

“I... see. I don’t get how those types of affairs go on the surface, but I suppose he’s somewhat important then.”

“Very important. To us. To the people. Let’s hope you...”

Agatha trailed off, looking for the right words.

“Let’s hope we don’t screw this up.”

“We will not.”

The two of them continued their twisted banter as the minutes turned to hours, and the room started to smell more and more strongly of blood and magic.

“It’s done. All that’s left is to wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FE3H: Where the kids really can't catch a break, half of them will probably end up dead at 16. Please help. :(

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this in my writing drafts for a month, so I’ve decided to continue it! I’m not sure how graphic it will end up being, but I put a warning just in case.  
> Also, since this likely won’t be brought up in the story, Agatha is Cornelia :)


End file.
